My Kickstarter is LIVE.

 Hey all.  Hope you're having a great rest of the summer and managing to stay cool despite the weather almost anywhere in the United States.

I'm thrilled to announce that my Kickstarter for my upcoming column collection "Laura's Look 100" went live early this afternoon.  As I type this, it's at $193 - just over $100 away from funding.  

If you like reading columns written with a warped point of view, this collection is worth checking out.  Go here to see it for yourself.  And below is a picture of the front cover of the upcoming book:

I hope you'll check it out.  Thanks for reading.  See you next month!

Blew Past a Couple of Milestones...

 At the end of June I hit two milestones and forgot to mention them.

First, "Laura's Look" is officially 25 years old.  That's a lot of columns and a lot of patience and grace from the Highlands News-Sun.  My thanks to them for continuing to run it.

I'm working on a special way to celebrate this 25th year.  Stay tuned for more information.  For now, if you'd like to read the earliest columns, you can pick up "Laura's Look: 1998-2000" at Amazon:

The second milestone has to do with my writing every day.  At the end of June I passed the three year mark.  That's three years of putting word down every single day, with no breaks.  I'm kind of proud of that streak and hope to continue it for some time to come.

I'm hoping to share some big news at the beginning of August.  Stay cool, stay safe, and I'll see you then.

Rollercoaster

 First, the good news.  The book signing earlier this month went off very well.  I sold a few books, made some contacts, and enjoyed interacting with readers.  Thanks to Gaylin Thomas for her preparation and encouragement.  Thanks also to my husband Don, who cheerfully carted books to and from the museum.

I still have a few books left.  They include two of my collections, Five Female Gumshoes and Seeking Refuge and other Bible Stories; my two latest novels Seek and Ye Shall Find and Death on the Air; and my first collection of columns from 1998-2000.  

If you would be interested in getting a signed copy sent to you, email me at laura@laurahware.com for prices.  First come, first serve.  I would prefer to be paid via Paypal but we can discuss alternatives.

That's the good stuff.  The bad?  For days I've been struggling with my main laptop, which has, for reasons I don't quite comprehend, decided to no longer run Office apps.  They will start off okay and then a box will pop up informing me the program has run into a problem and must close.

I have run a virus and malware scan on the system.  I have uninstalled and reinstalled Office several times to no avail.  It has taken up more of my time then I like and I'm uncertain what the solution is (all Microsoft haters please do not tell me to abandon the apps).

So the past week or so has been a rollercoaster.  Despite the computer problems things are looking up - in a few days Don and I leave to take a cruise around the Hawaiian islands.  Look for pictures on Facebook and possibly here.

Until next time, have a great week.

A Book Signing

 On Saturday, May 6th, I will be at the Peter Powell Roberts Museum of Art in Avon Park, Florida (310 W. Main Street) from 2-4 PM.  The museum is on the second floor of the Avon Park Community Center and has elevator access.

I will be there to say hi and sign books.  Not only will I have copies of my latest novel, Death on the Air, I will have other books available as well.  There will be light refreshments served.

If you live in the area, I hope you drop by to say hi!

2023 Goals (So Far)

 As I mentioned in a previous post, I want to share with you some things coming up this year.  These are based on goals I've set and hope to accomplish in 2023.

I want to continue my writing streak of getting words done every day.  So far I've managed to do so even though there were times it was tough.  Right now the streak stands at 947 days - 1,000 isn't that far away.

My friend Karen and I figured out there are SEVEN projects I want to publish.  I don't know if I can get them all out this year, but there are some that are a priority.  Three I know for sure will be out by the end of June are as follows:

-- Sorcery and Steel: Tempest.  Co-written with Azure Avians, this is the fifth book in our fantasy series.  I'm in the midst of writing the last chapter now, and we plan to have copies available for Shore Leave in July.

-- Laura's Look x100.  This year marks the 25th year of my column "Laura's Look."  I'm celebrating with a Kickstarter in April for a book that will include 100 of my columns that have been published over the years.  I'm looking at a June release for this, so stay tuned.

-- Death on the Air.  This is a Christian suspense novel.  A Christian radio talk show host gets a disturbing call on her show - a man confesses to a murder.  As events transpire, she learns there are more deaths to come - one of them hers.  I'm hoping to get this out the end of this month or beginning of March.

Hope you have a lovely February.  I'll talk to you again soon.

Where is "Laura's Look?"

Back in May I announced that "Laura's Look 1998-2000," my first collection of columns, would be out by the end of the month.  Observant folk might notice we are now in July and there is no sign of the book.  The curious among you might even ask, "What gives?"

The short answer: Life happened.

The longer answer (feel free to skip):
At the end of April my mother-in-law, who lives with us, went to the hospital with three different infections - pneumonia, a urinary tract infection, and sepsis.  She was a week in the hospital, and then three weeks in a nursing home undergoing rehab.

Except for a brief hospital stay, since then she's been home.  And she isn't as strong as she was before, and needs more care.  This has fallen to me.

At some point in May I tossed my writing goals on the trash heap.  I just couldn't juggle everything.  I have had to scale back my goals and expectations for now while I figure out this new aspect of my life.

So, when is "Laura's Look 1998-2000" coming out?

Good question. My hope is the end of this month.  But it depends on life right now, which is not entirely in my control.

Thanks for being patient with me.  My hopes is you will find the book worth the wait.

Coming later this month...

Finally....